Method of repairing rail joints



Nov.- 16 1926.

C. L. DELACHAUX METHOD OF REPAIRING RAIL JOINTS Filed Augut 15, 1925INVENTOR QZQQW HIS ATTORNEYS eon 17 Patented Nov. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES r 1, 07,117 PATENT OFFICE,

CLARENCE L. DELACHAUX, or GnNNnvILLInns, amnion.

METHOD OF REPAIRING RAIL JOINTS.

Application filed August 15, 1923, Serial No; 657,523, and inFrance-November 8 1922.

The invention relates to a novel method of repairing worn or defectiverail oints and has for its object to provide a simple and effective modeof restoring the worn tread sections of rails at or adjacent the jointstherein, and also to minimize the tendency of the rails to wear at therepaired or restored sections. I prises the formation of a solid,homogeneous joint between the repaired rail ends, which is preferablyeffected by an alummo-thermic weld which may embrace the entlre ends ofbothabutting rails, or 'in the alternatlve, may extend only overfthebase and web sec- .tions, but which, inall events, is suificient toprevent relative motion between therail ends, and finally restoring theworn portions of the rail treads by welding a body .of steel to each ofsaid tread portions to by fish plates, splice bars, and the like, leavesa certain space between the adjacent rail ends and renders therespective ends susceptible to movement relative to one an-I other underthe wheels of traflic, and the effect of the wheels passing over therelatively flexible rail ends and jumping the gap between the ends is towear ofi? the end of one rail tread, as the wheels leave the latter, andgrind or scour out a section of the tread of the adjacent rail, in themanner illustrated in the drawing. As these depressions increase indepth, the shocks to I the rollingstock, the road bed, and the railmentof the latter.

foundation of the latter, continually in-- crease in severity to theconsequent damage of the rolling stock and danger of de- In fact, sopronounced are these impairments of the rail at or adjacent the jointthat they require constant attention, in order to keep the roadway inserviceable condition, even though all of the other portions of therails are sound and serviceable in all respects. Various expedients havebeen suggested and attempted To these ends the invention comto obviatethe difliculty and to repair the damage where the latter could not beavoided, but, at best, allsuch expedients have proven to be meremakeshifts which afford only temporary relief and in the end invite-onlymore serious impairment of the railsvadjacent the joint, so that thedefective ends have to be severed or the entire rails discarded.

The present-invention is designed to impart to the impaired rail joint,as nearly aspossible, the same structural and physical characteristicsas those possessed by the body of the rail, so that no greater amount ofwear will subsequently occur at the joint than is developed in the bodyof the rail, under the ordinary conditions of traffic, the result beinthat the joint will stand up and maintain its integrity without furtherimpairment during the entire life of the m1 In carrying out theinvention, the ad jacent ends 'of'the rails are leveled -up and ibrought into substantial registry with each other and, preferably, theends are separated by a relatively short space and are retained in thisrelation until the succeeding operations are concluded. Preferably, thespace. between the adjacent rail ends is filled by a metallic insert,such as 5, which may consist of either a single shim like element, or aseries of such elements, after which a suitable mold, such as iscommonly employed for effecting the 'alumino-thermic joint between railends, is applied and a body of alumino-thermic steel-or the like, suchas6, is cast about and integrally united with the rail ends,preferably atthe base i and web sections constituting the lower portions of the rail.Obviously, if found desirable, the alumino-thermic joint may in-.

elude the entire sections of the rail ends, but, under ordinaryconditions, it will be found sufficient if the casting and jointure, bymeans of the alumino-thermic steel, in clude only the lower portions oftheadjacent rail ends and the lower portions of the insert 5, which,like the rail ends, is integrally united with and welded to the adjacentrail ends and the casting 6. This has the efiect of rendering the jointbetween the rails absolutely rigid, so ,that there is no relativemovement between the rail ends. In the event that the filling shims 5are of the same type or character as the metalof the rails and the'alinothermic casting 6- lormin the joint, the said shims will belikew1se we died and merged, into the structure of the rails and thejoint by the latter, so as to produce a substantially homogeneous rigidstruc ture at the joint. Even though the shim or filler is not welded tothe rail sections, it will necessarily be held rigidly in position, asit will be embedded in the casting 6.

fter the endsof the rails 1 and 2 have b en rigidly connected by thealumino-ther- "mic joint, the impaired portions of the tread,represented by the worn lip of the tread of rail 1, the space 3 betweenthe rails above the shim 5 and the depression 4, which has been groundout of the tread of the rail 2 b the efiect of trafic, is completelfilled wit steel, which is fused and welde to the rails either by thewell own electric welding method, or by the alumino-thermic weldinoperation, either of which willfill the cavities in the tread of therails and between the rail ends with molten steel, which merges-andfuses with the steel of the rails and forms a homogeneous uniontherewith;

By careful manipulation, just suiiicient steel may be applied to fill upthe cavities and re-' store the normal contour of the worn railsections, and fill the gap between the railends. In case more steel thanis necessary to eflect this result is applied, the surplus metal may beground away, after the joint has been formed, to bring the treads andadjacent sections of the repaired rail ends to the desired contour.

By the ap lication of this particular method, it W1 be noted that thejoint between the rail ends is'practicall eliminated and the railsmaterially strengt ened at the region of the original t{pint b thealuminothermio welding of 0 b0 y of metal 6 to the rail ends, theoriginal contour of the rail heads, including the treads, is effective Yly restored, and the gap between the rail ends eliminated, so that thereis no longer a an relative movement betweenthe respective rail sections1 and 2, and thelsubstam tial uniformity of structure and contour andthe continuity of the tread at the former joint will completely obviateanytendency means of the rails to wear at the points which have beenrestored.

fective rail joints, which comprises uniting the adjacent ends of therails by an aluminothermi'c ,weld, and restoring the tread portions bfilling the depression thereinwith steel a umino-thermically welded tosaid tread portions.

3."lhe method of repairing worn or de- I fective rail joints, whichcomprises applying a metallic insert between the ends of the rails,uniting the rail ends by an alumino-thermic weld, and. restoring thetread portionsby welding a body of steel'to said portions to'fill up thedepressions.

4. The method of repairing worn or defective rail joints, whichcomprises applying a metallic insert between the ends of therails,*uniting the rail ends by an aluminm thermic weld, and restoringthe tread portions by filling the depressions therein with steelalumino-thermically' welded to said portions to lill up thedepressions.

5. lhe method of repairing worn or detective rail joints, whichcomprises applying a metallic insert between the ends of the rails,

uniting thebase and web portions of the rail ends by an alumino;thermicweld,. and restoring the tread portions and fillin the gap-betweenthe'rail ends bywelding a ody of steel to said tread portions to fildepressions;

-6.- lhe method of repairing worn or'defec tire rail joints, whichcomprises applying a metallic insert between the ends of t erails, vuniti "the base and web portions of the rail ends; "f an'nlumino-thermicweld, and restoring""-the-"tread portions and filling the up thegapbetween the rail ends by filling the depressions therein with steelaluminofthermically welded to the tread portions.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

o. L. DELAOHA

